A wide variety of items comprise materials which, in use, are dispersed or spread over an area. Many of these items are dry powder or particulate materials. Examples of these include: grass seed; plant nutrients; insect dust; and colored chalk.
In use, such materials are generally dispersed over some surface. For those materials that are dispersed over the ground or plants, sometimes mechanical spreading equipment is used. While the equipment can be quite effective, it is often large, bulky, and is generally only desirable if a relatively large amount of material is to be spread over a relatively large area.
In many instances mechanical spreading equipment is not appropriate. In addition, mechanical spreading equipment may need to be thoroughly cleaned between uses, which can be inconvenient.
In some instances, spreading has involved either hand spreading or spreading with a hand-held scoop of some type. This can be inconvenient and messy.
Alternate arrangements for spreading materials have been desirable.